Mixed Messages

by Tina Wells

  “I can give you the name of the boutique,” Kathi said, curling her upper lip. “You know, so you don’t have to keep wearing those homemade earrings.”

  “No, thanks,” Zee said. “Making my jewelry is even more fun than wearing it.”

  “Hey, Zee, you and Landon looked like you were getting pretty friendly at the last field trip campfire,” Kathi went on. “What’s up with that?”

  “Uh . . . I don’t know,” Zee said. She was pretty sure that Landon liked her, but he had been Kathi’s boyfriend the year before. If competitive Kathi knew that Landon had asked Zee to hang out at the mall with him, there was no telling what she might do. Until Zee was certain about Landon, she wouldn’t tell anyone but her best friends.

  “Fine,” Kathi said. “Don’t tell me. Whatev.” With a huff, she turned to go—and came face-to-face with Mr. Papademetriou, Brookdale Academy’s instrumental music teacher.

  “Mr. P?” Jen said.

  Without thinking, Zee blurted out, “What are you doing here?” Mr. P was not only a music teacher, he was also the director of Zee’s band, The Beans. Chloe, Kathi, Jen, Missy, Jasper, Landon, Marcus, and Conrad were all in it, too.

  Mr. P ran his fingers through his tousled hair. “Well, I have to get my hair cut, too.”

  “It’s just . . . we’ve never seen you here before,” Jen pointed out.

  Zee and Chloe nodded. “Is this your first time at Wink?” Chloe asked.

  “Yup,” Mr. P said.

  “So what’s the special occasion?” Kathi asked.

  “Who said there was a special occasion?”

  “Is there?” Zee coaxed.

  “I know!” Jen announced. “You have a date!”

  “That’s it!” Ally cheered.

  “Awesome!” Chloe joined in.

  Mr. P’s cheeks reddened. “No, that’s not it,” he protested, laughing nervously.

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Kathi told him.

  Mr. P sighed, then looked from one girl to the next. “I was going to wait until Monday to tell the whole band.”

  “What?” the girls asked at once.

  “I have a big announcement.”

  “What is it?” Zee wondered out loud.

  “I’ll tell the whole band at school.”

  “Wait!” Zee exclaimed. “Can’t you tell us now?”

  “If I told you now, that wouldn’t be fair to the rest of The Beans,” Mr. P said to the girls. “Plus, you wouldn’t have anything to look forward to—or talk about.”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Papademetriou,” the Wink receptionist interrupted the conversation. “Your stylist is ready for you.”

  Relief washed over Mr. P’s face. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get my hair cut.”

  * * *

  When Zee and Ally got back to the Carmichaels’ house, Zee logged onto her computer. She wanted to email Jasper a list of the ideas for Bluetopia that she, Chloe, and Ally had come up with at Wink.

  “It would be a lot easier if Jasper were a girl,” Ally said.

  “Why?” Zee asked.

  “Because then he would have been at Wink with us.”

  Zee typed in her password. “True.”

  “And you could talk to him about you and Landon.”

  “I can talk to him about me and Landon,” Zee said defensively.

  “Have you?” Ally asked.

  “Well . . .” Zee hesitated. “No.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “It’s only because I don’t think he’d be interested,” Zee answered quickly. “And right now I’m not sure there’s anything to say.”

  The computer dinged. Zee had an IM.

  BRAH13: Hey!

  “Who’s Brah13?” Ally asked.

  “Landon,” Zee explained as a wide smile spread across her face. “It’s what surfers call one another.”

  “Looks like he does like you,” Ally said, plopping onto Zee’s bed next to her best friend. “He’s thinking about you.”

  E-ZEE: Hey!

  BRAH13: Wassup?

  E-ZEE: Ally and I r hanging.

  BRAH13: Cool.

  Zee waited.

  And waited.

  “Say something,” Ally urged.

  “Like what?”

  Ally thought. “Ask him what he’s doing.”

  E-ZEE: What r u doing?

  BRAH13: Not much.

  Zee waited again. Then she looked at Ally.

  “Maybe he’s tired,” Ally suggested.

  Zee shrugged. And waited. Finally, another message came.

  BRAH13: I downloaded a cool vid by Silent Noise. They r my favorite band. Do u like them?

  “Ewww!” Ally said. “They’re awful.”

  Zee knew what Ally meant. She didn’t like Silent Noise, either. Not even a little. But she didn’t want to insult Landon by telling him that.

  As Zee thought about how to respond, an IM came from Jasper.

  BRITCHAP: R u there?

  E-ZEE: Yes.

  BRITCHAP: Bz afternoon.

  E-ZEE: 411.

  BRITCHAP: Dad & I went 2 a meeting.

  E-ZEE: What kind?

  BRITCHAP: A bunch of volunteers are going to plant trees around Brookdale town hall to help fight global warming.

  E-ZEE: Cool beans!

  BRITCHAP: Then I watched Manchester City play Manchester United.

  E-ZEE: Soccer?

  BRITCHAP: Right.

  E-ZEE: Xellent.

  BRITCHAP: Then I worked on Bluetopia.

  E-ZEE: A, C & I did 2. We have ideas.

  BRITCHAP: K. Let’s talk. 2mor @ my house?

  E-ZEE: K. bbfn

  Bloop. A new IM came in.

  BRAH13: ????

  Oh no! Zee had forgotten all about Landon!

  E-ZEE: Sorry! Got another IM.

  BRAH13: K. g2g.

  E-ZEE: K. ttfn.

  “That was kind of weird,” Ally pointed out.

  “What?” Zee asked.

  “You like Landon, but you guys don’t really have much to talk about, and you’re just friends with Jasper, but you don’t have a problem IMing at all.”

  Zee snorted. “That doesn’t mean anything!” she said. “You and I have a lot to talk about, and we’re just friends.”

  “I’m just saying it’s too bad that you and Landon don’t have more in common,” Ally said, then gave Zee a curious look. “Did you think I meant that Jasper should be your boyfriend?”

  “Uh . . . no,” Zee said. “Why would I think that? That would be ridiculous.”

  “Maybe,” Ally said. Then more quietly, she added, “Maybe not.”

  In one motion, Zee scooped up a pillow from her bed and hurled it at Ally.

  “Hey!” Ally protested, but soon she started laughing. And Zee joined in.

  * * *

  Things I Have in Common with Landon

  The Beans (Yay!)

  * * *

  Zee tapped her pen against her head and thought.

  And thought. “Oh!” she remembered.

  * * *

  Brookdale Academy

  * * *

  She thought a little more.

  * * *

  Friends

  * * *

  Most of their same friends were in The Beans, but Zee figured it still counted.

  Zee looked at her list. That’s enough for now, she decided, certain she would think of more to add to her list later.

  Chapter 3

  News Times Two

  On Sunday, Zee and Ally went over to Jasper’s house to work on Bluetopia. While Zee and Jasper brainstormed ideas and designed pages, Ally read Flip magazine and IMed her friends in France.

  “I think the background on that page is a little too dark,” Zee told Jasper. “It’s hard to read the letters.”

  “Good point,” Jasper said, then moved his mouse, clicked on a few links and colors, and refreshed the page.

  “Perfect!” Zee said.

  “I almost
forgot!” Jasper started pecking at the computer keyboard, typing a URL into his internet browser. A blue shirt came up on the screen. “Do you think I’d look good in that?” Jasper was used to wearing shirts with collars and khaki pants, but lately he was trying different things. He always got Zee’s opinion before he bought something new, though.

  “Yeah, it’s really cool.” Zee nodded.

  Jasper clicked “Add to Cart” under the picture.

  “I can wear it when I’m not in my school uniform.”

  “I thought you liked your Brookdale Academy jacket and tie so much that you slept in them,” Zee teased.

  Jasper shook his head. “I would never treat them with such disrespect,” he said seriously. Then he smiled.

  “Oh, you were joking!” Zee said, relieved. “For a second, I thought you were getting a little too attached to your uniform.”

  “Speaking of school, it’s my turn to rotate the compost bin in the garden next weekend,” Jasper told Zee. “Do you want to help me?”

  “What do I have to do?” Zee asked.

  “You just take a shovel and turn all of the leaves and vegetable scraps over,” Jasper explained. “It’s pretty easy if two people do it together.”

  Zee scrunched her nose. “Is it messy?”

  “Not in the least.”

  “That could be fun! I’ll do it.” Zee looked at the computer screen, then clicked on the tab to take them back to Bluetopia. “You know, I think that maybe we need to add some bright colors and cool graphics to the home page. It looks a little . . . boring right now.”

  “Do you think so?” Jasper asked. “I don’t think my mates care if it’s a bit drab.”

  “Maybe your boy mates won’t, but your girl mates will.” Zee looked at Ally. “Right, Ally?”

  Ally lifted her eyes from her magazine. “Right, Zee.”

  “Show Jasper a page from the magazine,” Zee suggested. Ally turned it around so Jasper could see. The page was filled with colorful jewelry, belts, and other accessories. “That’s what we like,” Zee told Jasper.

  Jasper looked down at his hands. “Yes, it seems I need some help when it comes to understanding girls. It’s good that you’re here,” he said quietly. He seemed shy all of a sudden.

  Jasper had acted like this around other girls but never with Zee. It felt a little weird. Zee just wanted things to be normal between them.

  “Without you, we wouldn’t have Bluetopia at all,” Zee said. “You’re a computer genius. It’s one of your many gifts.”

  Jasper flashed Zee a smile. And Zee noticed Ally spying over the top of her magazine and making a hmm face.

  On the way back to her house, Zee was silent. She kept thinking about how well she and Jasper had worked together. And for the first time, she was really noticing how multitalented he was. Best of all, they never seemed to run out of things to say.

  Do I have a crush on Jasper? Zee wondered. She shook the idea out of her head. One of the things that Zee liked best about her friendship with Jasper was that she never got a weird crushy feeling when he was around. It was just like being friends with Chloe and Ally.

  Still, Zee couldn’t stop wondering why she’d never told Jasper about how much she liked Landon.

  Did her heart know something her head didn’t?

  “Oh, hello, girls!” Ginny Carmichael sang as Ally and Zee walked into the kitchen later that day. She was stirring a steaming pot on the stove.

  “Hi, Mom,” she said. “What’s up?”

  Ally sniffed the air. “Something smells delicious.”

  “Thanks, Ally,” Zee’s mother said. She picked up a handful of chopped parsley and dropped it in the pot with a flourish. “I’m making a special dinner.”

  “Because . . . ?” Zee prompted.

  “A mother can’t make a special meal for no reason?”

  Zee and Ally shook their heads at the same time. “Uh-uh,” they said in unison.

  “Well, you’ll just have to be patient,” Mrs. Carmichael told them. Then she gestured toward the table. “Can you two set the places for dinner?”

  Zee started putting place mats out while Ally reached into a cabinet to get glasses.

  With a glass in each hand, Ally moved closer to the stove. “What are you making?”

  “No peeking!” Mrs. Carmichael quickly put a lid on the pot. “You’ll find out soon enough. When you girls are finished with the table, why don’t you occupy yourselves until the meal’s ready?” She began whistling as she chopped onions.

  “I know when I’m not wanted,” Zee said.

  As Zee folded a cloth napkin on each place mat, Ally came behind and put a fork on top. “Let’s go play Wii,” she suggested when they were done, then headed out of the kitchen.

  Zee followed. “Okay,” she agreed.

  In the TV room, Ally grabbed a game control and sank into the Carmichaels’ couch. “A lot of people are keeping secrets around here,” she said.

  “Who?” Zee asked. “Me?”

  Ally studied Zee. “I don’t know. Are you?”

  “Uh . . . no. I just thought you thought I was,” Zee said quickly. “But of course I’m not. Why would I? . . . I’ll stop rambling now.”

  “I just meant your mom and Mr. P,” Ally explained.

  “Oh yeah. Them.” Zee sat down next to Ally.

  “Maybe it’s the same secret,” Ally suggested. “We might find out before everyone else.”

  “What could it be?” Zee wondered out loud.

  Ally thought. “The Beans could be going on tour.”

  Zee shook her head. “It’s too soon for the band. We all have to go to school.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Ally agreed. “Plus, that doesn’t explain your mother’s weird mood.”

  “It is weird, isn’t it?” Zee asked. “I mean, she loves cooking, and she’s almost always in a good mood, but this is a little too good. She never whistles.”

  “Maybe we’re twin sisters who were separated at birth,” Ally suggested.

  Zee studied her friend skeptically. The girls were both wearing tank tops and shorts rolled up to make cuffs, but that was where the similarities ended. Zee had a face full of freckles and a short red bob. There wasn’t a single freckle on Ally’s face, and her smooth, thick brown hair reached halfway down her back.

  “I think we need another theory,” Zee said.

  “What else could it be?”

  “Okeydokey!” Mrs. Carmichael cooed from the doorway. “Dinner’s ready!”

  “We’ll find out soon,” Zee said, leading Ally to the kitchen.

  Mr. Carmichael was lighting a candle.

  “Fancy,” Adam said, taking his seat at the table. “What’s up?”

  “It’s a special night,” Mrs. Carmichael said, sitting down next to her son.

  Ally pointed at herself, then Zee, and mouthed, “Twins.”

  “What did you say?” Mrs. Carmichael said, surprised.

  “Oh, nothing important,” Ally said quickly.

  Adam looked at his mother. “Did you finally sign up Zee for the circus—” he began, “as the monkey?”

  “That’s funny,” Zee said. “Not.”

  “Good comeback,” Adam responded. “Not.”

  “All right, you two,” Mr. Carmichael cut in. “Stop teasing each other.” Instead of looking upset with his kids, though, a smile stretched across his face.

  “I feel like I’m living in the twilight zone,” Zee groaned. “Would someone please tell me what you’re talking about?”

  “We won’t keep you in suspense any longer.” Zee’s mother reached over and grabbed her father’s hand. Then she looked at him with what could only be described as goo-goo eyes. Yuck! “We’re expecting,” she said.

  Zee, Adam, and Ally all leaned forward.

  “A delivery?” Zee asked.

  “Yes!” Mr. Carmichael said.

  “Of what?” Ally asked.

  “Babies!” Mrs. Carmichael said.

  “Whose?�
�� Adam asked, confused.

  “Ours,” his mother told him. “Yours.”

  “Ummm . . . Mom? I’m going to need a do-over, because I don’t get it,” Zee said.

  “Your mother is pregnant,” Zee’s father explained.

  Zee’s mouth dropped open as the news sunk in. The feelings inside Zee morphed from joy to confusion to shock.

  Adam started laughing. “Good one!” he said. “Very funny. You almost had me going.”

  Mrs. Carmichael looked confused. “It’s not a joke.”

  When she could finally speak, Zee said, “But you said ‘babies.’ As in plural. As in many.”

  Zee’s father laughed. “Just two.”

  “Two babies?” Zee asked.

  “Twins.”

  “I knew it had something to do with twins!” Ally shouted triumphantly. “How awesome is that?”

  “Cool beans!” Zee said. “I’m going to make them some amazing clothes. Boys or girls?”

  “Or girl and boy?” Ally asked.

  Zee’s mother laughed. “We don’t know. We’ve decided to be surprised.”

  “I love surprises,” Zee said.

  “Me too,” Ally agreed. “I want to be here when they’re born.”

  “That would be incredible!” Zee said. “After all, they’ll practically be your sisters—or brothers—too.”

  “Well, I’m glad I’m going to college. I’ll be leaving just in time,” Adam said.

  “What do you mean?” Zee asked.

  “I’ll escape the screaming and crying.”

  “I’m sure the babies won’t be so bad,” Zee’s father told him.

  “I wasn’t talking about the babies,” Adam explained. “I was talking about Zee.”

  “Why would I be screaming and crying?” Zee asked.

  “You’re not going to be the youngest anymore. I bet you’ll be whinier than the twins.”

  “Oh, that’s silly,” Mrs. Carmichael said. “Look at how excited she is.”

  A knot tightened in Zee’s stomach. “Uh . . . yeah.” She stumbled on her words. “Totally.”